Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Sharks’ Couture “happy to continue playing” in Switzerland if there’s no new deal

Logan Couture

FILE - In this file photo taken May 18, 2011, San Jose Sharks’ Logan Couture celebrates a goal against the Canucks during a hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Sharks signed Couture to a two-year, $5.75 million contract extension through the 2013-14 season on Friday, Aug. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

AP

San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture is having a blast playing for Geneva in the Swiss National A League -- so much, in fact, that he’s perfectly content to stay there.

“Every hockey player wants to play in the NHL. It’s a childhood dream for every Canadian,” Couture explained to the Globe and Mail. “We want to reach a deal but if it doesn’t happen, I’ll be happy to continue playing in Geneva.”

Couture has paced Geneva to first place in the Swiss league -- seven points clear of second-place Zurich -- and has done it in style, scoring 10 points in 10 games.

He, along with former Columbus forward Dan Fritsche (7G-9A-16PTS) are at the heart of a team loaded with NHL experience (Rico Fata, Brian Pothier, Tony Salmelainen, Alex Picard) and steadied on the back-end by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Yannick Weber, Geneva’s other lockout signing.

The experience of playing overseas has been enjoyable for Couture -- something we’ve heard more and more from various locked-out NHLers in various European leagues.

Several Russian-born players plying their trade in the KHL (Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk) have said they’d be fine with playing the season in Russia.

That said, it’s clear the European experience is not for everybody.

Montreal forward Max Pacioretty severed ties with Swiss Club Ambri-Piotta after playing just five games, with agent Alec Shall telling ESPN “it was not an ideal environment for therapy and workouts.”